Five things we learned from Sheffield United's 2-2 draw at Scunthorpe

Billy Sharp's late penalty sealed a well-earned point for Sheffield United at Scunthorpe this afternoon.

The result stretched United's unbeaten run to five games, with four wins, but it wasn't without controversy as Chris Basham put United ahead, and was then sent off for a challenge on Neal Bishop.

Here, our man Danny Hall offers five talking points from Glanford Park. Have your say in the comments below, on Twitter or on Facebook.

Darren Deadman will have few friends in Sheffield after this one. And in Scunthorpe, actually. When a referee attracts criticism from both sets of fans, you know he's been pretty rubbish.

It always seems a shame to talk about a referee, but his decision to send off Chris Basham was undoubtedly a key moment in the game. Deadman appeared set to let play continue until he saw Neal Bishop had stayed down, and then seemingly felt compelled to send Basham off.

It was a strange decision from the ref the ref and Chris Wilder after rightly pointed out a similar challenge on Basham earlier, which only resulted in a yellow.

Billy Sharp showed some bottle to step up again and score a late penalty. He seemed pretty relaxed about it and admitted afterwards he was never going to shy away, especially against his former club.

But Sharp's clinical penalty, after another frustrating afternoon for him personally, sealed a vital point and United's unbeaten run continues.

The fans seemed happy with a point. Not always the case, of course, especially when your side takes the lead, goes behind and then ends up nicking a point late on.

But at full-time, United's travelling support recognised the effort their side had put in and the character they'd shown to hit back against a decent Scunthorpe team.

Leon Clarke will be out for a month. The striker has chipped a bone in his ankle, tests showed. He would have been perfect for a game like this but has showed his bottle in playing through such an injury. United, too, were right to take their time with the striker and he will prove a valuable asset when he returns, fit and firing.

Alan Knill also isn't the most popular man in Scunthorpe, either. Especially if the words of a song from the home ends today are anything to go by.

But the Blades assistant is a popular man in the United dressing room, and it was his free-kick routine which helped United go ahead. Mark Duffy, who instigated the set play also involving Jack O'Connell before Basham applied the finish, ran straight to Knill in the dugout to celebrate.